Fox signs multi-year deal with PBA

[Munnings242]

A level athlete unlike these fighting bums

Fighting for reebok money

 

[pick999]

the 80s called they said they want their sport back

 

[mmacasualviewer]

Conor could probably sell 1 million PPVs if he competed in the UK Darts Open.

 

[Credo]

So PBA is bringing more viewers than UFC?

Oh man UFC really IS dying

 

[Kinger85]

5 pin bowling is where it's at.

Get out of here with that crazy 10 pin shit.

 

[Morphumax]

No mention of UFC

How high are you?

 

[LUDELOW]

yup, UFC is sinking

 

[Not A Real Fan]

I'M HERE!!!!

One doesn't really have to do with the other necessarily.
Unless something changed, Fox still has their $250m per bid in
UFC was hoping movement would happen with the ATT/TW merger, but that is going at a turtles pace.
ESPN letting bowling go after 18 years is interesting since it did good numbers on ESPN.

I can honestly say I never heard of Fox stating "If you don't take the $250m deal, we go with bowling"

Re: the deal with PBA/Fox, the press release gave zero info on any monetary value, but as pointed out, the 4 Fox specials is interesting.

It was in UFC's court to accept the $250m offer from Fox (or not)

Here is what I wrote on 3/11:


I haven't heard anything since & I talked to media that follows closely & they haven't either.
They are expected to announce by 3/31

I know nothing about the business side of bowling but my gut feeling is that FOX is not paying the PBA 300-400 million dollars per year. Probably 100 million at most but most likely way less (again gut feeling based on the non-popularity of bowling).

This article details how unpopular bowling is compared to the heyday of the 1970s and also how ranked bowlers get paid so little.

https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-professional-bowling/

In short, Fox is getting bowling on the cheap (maybe as much as 10 times less than the 400 million the UFC is asking for) and filling the same exact time slots. Plus the ratings are probably not that far off from what the UFC is pulling recently.

I'm not saying that Fox is no longer interested in the UFC. But it already has its replacement in place in case the UFC insists on some high price tag Fox is not willing to pay.

Just a hunch.

 

[thefaintjoy]

Doesn’t the UK go apeshit for darts? Canadians for curling? Every country has its own blindingly white sport.

 

[Norman Khabib]

yup, UFC is sinking

only because of their mountain of money

 

[Ilovepizza]

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Funny enough bowling legit used to be the most popular sport in the US like fifty years ago. The first million dollar "sport athlete" sponsorship contract ever signed went to a professional bowler.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

Lots of Kingpin fans on Sherdog. Wouldn't have guessed lol

Classic movie with Bill Murray as the legendary Big Ernie McCracken

"Didn't I tell you to call me Ernie or Big Ern"..

 

[Norman Khabib]

I came back to this thread and that was the first new post! <Lmaoo> ^

 

[Babaganoosh]

They wear shirts with flames on them.

 

[whooty]

Bowling will be the biggest sport in the world within 10 years

Bigger then soccer

 

[IDGETKTFO]

“Fox Sports is thrilled to add the highly rated PBA Tour to our extensive lineup, joining other sport partners including the NFL, the FIFA World Cup, MLB, NASCAR, MLS, UFC, NHRA, Supercross, USGA, college football and basketball, and others,” said William Wanger, Fox Sports executive vice president

No mention of UFC

Epic Fail.

 

[Norman Khabib]

Epic Fail.

It wasn't epic.